Nendō Chōchinobake
| occupation = None | previous occupation = Captain | team = None | previous team = | partner = None | previous partner = | base of operations = Soul Society | marital status = Single | relatives = Unknown | education = Shinō Academy | status = Inactive | shikai = Kazaguruma | bankai = Not yet revealed }} Nendō Chōchinobake (提灯お化け 念動, Chōchinobake Nendō) is a former Captain of the before leaving his position with the excuse of being "Mentally Unable to Perform his duties". A ploy to get out his job, Nendō has chosen to settle down within the First District of "Junrinan". During his days as a captain Nendō carried the moniker The Insane (非常識な, Hijōshikina) for his Zanpakutō's unique ability to damage his opponents psyche. During his time in the his Lieutenant was , who would eventually take his spot as Captain when he retired. His name is still feared today for his abilities in the field and the unique shape his Spiritual Pressure takes in battle. Personality Usually calm and comically simplistic, Nendō likes to keep to himself. Not wanting to showcase his abilities, he even goes as far as to hide his Zanpakutō from the sight of others. His natural serene nature and caring smile gets attention onto him he greatly dislikes, but manages to live with it. He claims to be haunted by his past, being a Captain who had the acknowledgment of the Royal Guard themselves but decided to give it all away. He enjoys the smaller things in life, like taking a sip of some sake or watching the kids play around District 1. Not above protecting those he holds dear and those he doesn't even know, Nendō will reveal his prowess if the situation ever called for it. During his days as a Captain, Nendō remained constantly unphased and rarely would show emotion. He was raised on the idea that how others saw him depicted who he was, which he learned was truly false after meeting his Lieutenant . In battle, Nendō has proved to be quite ferocious utilizing his Zanpakutō to slash at his opponents till they are no more. During his time as a Captain he would often be associated with the name The Insane for both his Zanpakutō's ability and his insanity on the battlefield. Over the years and his stepping down as a Captain, Nendō has managed to contain the instability and ferociousness he used to let out on the field but is constantly stricken with grief of his past mistakes. When disheartened for his previous actions, he places his hand over his heart in pain. Appearance Nendō is a tall and fair skinned young looking man, with black hair held in a ponytail and black eyes. He normally wears a modified Shinigami uniform; consisting of a white shitagi, a blue kosode, a dark blue hakama, a white hakama-himo, white tabi, and waraji. He wears a pair of black sandals, with his legs wrapped in bandage. He often has a pair of oval rimmed glasses sitting on his face. When going out to battle, Nendō will keep his Zanpakutō in its sheath sitting at the right of his waist. During his time as a Captain, Nendō wore a standard Shinigami Shihakushō with a white Captain's haori over it. He carried his Zanpakutō at the left of his waist, and wore a pair of goggles instead of glasses. History During his time in life, Nendō was an attorney who was assigned a case that would finally put a mass murderer in jail. After the murderer was convicted for his crimes, Nendō would leave the courthouse to quickly get shot by an associate of the mass murderer. Nendō woke up later in the day, laying next to a pier. Wondering what happened he quickly remembered he was shot and killed by a student. Quickly confronting the closest being to him, he was saddened to learn that he was in fact dead when the man didn't respond. Sinking into a deep sadness, Nendō would wander the pier unsure of his next step. Later in the night, a unknown demonic being appeared from the water and lunged for him. Outrunning the beast for a good while, he was finally saved by a blast of fire from a man wearing a black outfit. Unsure of what happened, he thanked the man and asked "what should I do?". The man in black lifted his blade and said "Let it go and move on". Performing the Soul Burial on Nendō, he was sent to the Soul Society. Not remembering his past life, Nendō adopted life in the Soul Society rather quickly. He would become a simple farm hand to a elderly couple for many years. One day, a demonic being appearing very similar to the one that attacked him in the Human World would appear on the farm. Fearing for his life, Nendō raised a hand trying to push away the beast only to fire a concentrated blast of energy from his hand. A Shinigami who was deployed to deal with the Hollow saw Nendō's action and told him to come with him. Nendō was then introduced and allowed into the Shinno Academy where he became a Shinigami within the year. During his Academy Days, Nendō proved to have quick control over his reiatsu and upon his graduation quickly mastered the Shikai of his Zanpakutō. Raising through the ranks, Nendō would jump from division to division eventually be a candidate for the title of Fifth Division captain after the death of the previous one. By this point Nendō had mastered his Bankai and quickly took the role as Captain. After several years of being a Captain, his natural calm and serene disposition disappeared and he became fairly grim. His Lieutenant would be the one true friend in his life; and he would become very saddened after his exile. Unable to cope with the frustration and bothersome job as Captain, Nendō used the ploy of being insane to get his Captain status revoked by Central 46. Able to live a free life, Nendō settled down in the First District of Rukongai where he stayed for the next few years of his life. Powers & Abilities *'Master Swordsmanship Specialist': A Captain-level swordsman, Nendō's skills surpass those of even themselves. As shown during his time as a Captain, Nendō was a fearsome foe with his Zanpakutō slicing down his opponents till nothing was left. With the aide of his Zanpakutō's fluid wind-like motions, it allowed for fast and steady combat techniques that earned him much respect. His fellow Captain would remark that Nendō was a "freak with his blade". **'Vertical Dragon' (縦軸 竜, Tatejiku Ryū): As shown in the picture, Nendō will flash step to the side of his opponent and vertically strike them from their lower waist to their shoulder. When striking, the opponent faintly see's the outline of a dragon head shaped from Nendō's reiatsu behind him. **''' *'Immense Spiritual Power': He is capable of exerting a vast Spiritual Pressure, which, in league with his already admirable combat skills and finesse, made him one of the most formidable captains. His spiritual pressure is so great it can be felt from a great distance and it has the tendency to make people shake in fear. His Spiritual Power would take the shape of a large demonic being that would strike his foes with fear. *'Kidō Specialist': Fairly well-round in the use of Kidō, Nendō's own Zanpakutō had Kidō-like features. Nendō proved to utilize several minor Kidō spells such as to blow through smaller Hollows with ease. His most impressive feat is utilizing combinations of Bakudō spells to disarm and snare his targets. Utilizing both and with great skill to track and transmit information to his allies. **'Inner World Materialization': By use of Kidō, Nendō has shown to cast a powerful Illusion-Class (幻 階層, Gen-kaisō) Kidō spell that will place him and his target onto a mock-copy of his Inner World. Having the upper hand inside this faux-inner world, Nendō can shatter the illusion in any instant he see's fit. He does remark to "not being able to alter how it looks" as the image is taken directly from his memories. *'Enhanced Durability': Shown to have outstanding durability, despite his frail and thin appearance, Nendō has shown to continue fighting while ignoring multiple near-fatal battle wounds. His stamina is near amazing, as he is able to go on fighting for a good few days without rest as shown during the peak of his Captain career. During a fight with an Arrancar fully released, where it took the size of a large building, Nendō proved to come out of the battle near unscathed and was able to ignore the broken bones throughout his body. **'Poison Immunity': As shown when fighting a former associate who was skilled in the use of poisons, Nendō has somehow built up an immunity to many poisons. He claims that a Hollow's bite contains enough poison to kill a large cow, so he must maintain a strong immunity to anything his enemies can throw at him. *'Shunpo Master': Greatly skilled in the field of agility, Nendō excels in Shunpo. Able to out run several other Captain-level Shinigami he would enjoy himself as he did so. During his days as a Captain, Captain-Commander Yamamoto offered him a challenge to keep up with him. Unable to keep up with the First Division Captain at first, by exerting large amounts of energy he was finally able to do so. **'Utsusemi' (空蝉; Cicada, referencing their molting): Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō. It allows for a movement at great speed, leaving an afterimage behind. Zanpakutō Kazaguruma (風車, "windmill"; a reference to the way he moves the blade): A katana with a white handle wrapped in blue string, Kazaguruma has a small gold colored circular guard with the imprint of a diamond on both of its flat surfaces. *'Shikai': It is triggered by the command "Topple Over" (打倒以上, Datō ijō). :Shikai Special Abilities: In Shikai, Kazaguruma doesn't change its shape and keeps its sealed form. Nendō will gains the ability of "devolving" the mind of his targets. After contact has been made with the blood by the blade of Kazaguruma, Nendō will use his pointer and middle finger to spin Kazaguruma by the handle. After doing so, the person whose blood he has drawn will revert backwards to their most recent primal state. If used on a full grown Shinigami, they normally become more child like and if used on a child will leave them in a mindless state. When his Zanpakutō is resealed, the effect of Kazaguruma will fade off any targets it was used on. Those who are stronger than Nendō have a stronger immunity to the technique and have a higher chance of breaking from its powers. *'Bankai': Not Yet Revealed Trivia * His picture comes from Jin a main character in the series by Shinichirō Watanabe called Samurai Champloo. * Nendō is greatly inspired off of several characters, ranging from Shikamaru Nara for his natural bored attitude to Kisuke Urahara for his calm disposition. His habit of placing his hand over his heart when he is grieving is a trait shared with the character Reverend Dimmsdale from the romance novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.